North Carolina Instructor Admits Fraud in $150,000 SBA Loan

Pamela Humphrey, 44, an instructor at Fayetteville Technical Community College, admitted guilt on a federal wire fraud conspiracy count tied to a $150,000 pandemic relief loan, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced on November 2, according to Where Is The Buzz.

Prosecutors said Humphrey sought an Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration for a Robeson County business and misstated the company's employee count and gross revenue to qualify. The agency approved the request and the money landed in an account she controlled, prosecutors said. The business was not identified in the government's announcement, and no co-defendants were named.

She faces as much as 30 years in prison and fines up to $1 million at sentencing later in 2026, plus a forfeiture judgment requiring repayment of the full $150,000. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones Jr. took the plea. The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation worked the case.

The SBA moved $1.2 trillion through disaster loans and the Paycheck Protection Program during the pandemic. A 2023 inspector general report put fraudulent disbursements above $200 billion, including $136 billion in disaster loans; the agency's own estimate was roughly $36 billion.

This story was first reported by Where Is The Buzz.